Das Festnetz is the name given to the cable-based telephone network, known in English as land lines or PSTN.

Telephone numbers in this network have a set Vorwahl (Prefix or STD-Code). Previously the numbers were often assigned to a particular property, these days it is usually possible to take your number with you as long as the area code stays the same.

Apart from the Deutsche Telekom some cities have their own cable-based telephone networks, but there are also two larger completely separate networks owned by the Deutsche Bahn and the German army.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Tags: Festnetz, Land line, PSTN

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 11:59 pm and is filed under Telephone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.